I was on my way back when I saw few stalls doing henna. It's RM 10.00 for one hand. I had to sit in my car for 20 minutes waiting for it to dry. Unfortunately I wrongly choosed the black henna. I honestly thought it might just be a type of henna (like green tea, red tea or black tea) which give redder colour. It turned out like it's really black, like the tatoo. Luckily i didn't do the whole hand. It looks good though if we do it on certain part of the body .... very tempting.
My left hand design
The right hand design.
THE OUTFIT
Every Deepavali, Uncle Perumal will treat me to new Punjabi suit. However this year I decided to buy my own ( malu lah sebab dah kerja) in one of the boutiques along Jalan Tun Sambathan and Brickfield. Mogana my adik angkat said she prefered the choices at Jalan TAR but uncle and myself had been loyal customers of Jothika's, next to the Sentral Monorail Station.
I wore the pink one on Deepavali. The red one was given to me by sister Joan, this one have to reserve for Mogana's birthday as it is more Bollywood.
THE FOOD 
This was what I had for breakfast. Iddli and my foster mum's version of chicken rendang. In fact I think it taste more like the Eurasian Devil Curry.
My foster mum making the tose.
Taraa... taste so much better than Ali Maju Bistro's.
Deepavali Goodies... kuih gunting, kuih keras (this one is special as my foster mum added nuts), murukku... some of it I don't know how to pronounce.
THE DECO
The koalam (pronounce column)
Prayer room
Alamak! Got sidetracked. Saja mukadimah panjang takut nanti ada mamarazi atau ada orang mengata aku pi cuci mata dan makan free jer. Dah lah masa jamuan raya Bahagian Korporat Mirza kata kat aku "hang ada masa update blog yer Jaime". Nasib baiklah Saharah tak dengar... hehehe. Btw, we asked to have a look at their newly handed over project - The Loft @ KL Sentral following the success of their Suasana Sentral 1 and 2. The smallest units which is 800 sqft studio are sold at RM 300,000 +++, the largest pulak at RM 4 million. However maintenance charge is reasonable at RM 0.20 psqft. U could say it is at the lower side considering it's in KL.
I was mesmerized by the Koi Pond surrounding the building's gymnasium.
View of KL as seen from the facilities area on 7th Floor, also visible from the gym.
This is their most expensive unit also known as the Loft.
Hensem tak my new direct boss? Baru semangat nak kerja ... unlike that one particular X-boss. Ni master bedroom.
The living area. U know I checked the price of the sofa set in Jalan Telawi, Bangsar. RM 15K ok.
U wanna know what they were discussing? They said kalau bini dah out of shape takleh mandi open-open kat sini. I had to roll my eyes...
Presenter : Young KL Singers
Juadah-juadah yang disediakan dari pandangan kiri.
Juadah-juadah yang disediakan dari pandangan sudut kanan.
Yang nie Mashita punya pinggan. Habis licin. Masa gambar nie diambik Saharah cepat-cepat clear pinggan-pinggan dia.
Kek "Secret Recipe" tuh Ida yang belasah habis...
Nie Mirza punya mee kari...
Nie Mirza punya roti jala in chicken curry gravy. Susah nak ambik gambar yang menarik sebab kebanyakan subjek habis dibelasah sebelum gambar sempat diambik.
Door gift untuk special guests... Saharah kata baguslah boleh pakai masak malam nie..
View of the Sg. Besi Toll from the balcony at night. A place where money come flowing in.
Amin is putting the undercoat to cover the original paint before painting the desired colour over it.
The living room after undercoating. Taken this morning. Came early as the next phase is time consuming...
I didn't really understand the difference between matte finish, soft sheen finish, or silky smooth finish. So yesterday, the unpainted walls became my canvas. I decided to try out the ICI new Paint - Light and Space which is claimed to be the revolutionary paint that makes a room reflect twice as much light compared to conventional emulsions and thus making your room feel more spacious. I tested it on the wall of my darkest room (with camera flash on) to see the effect as demonstrated here.
My adrenalin start pumping as the walls started to transform from a vision to a reality. The room colours a bit lari lah from the modern contemporary theme as it was based on feng shui orientation. Plus I wanted it to have its own character (sounds like Tara from WOW Factor plak).
By the way, the Light and Space paint really make my smallest and darkest room look spacious and glorious lah... Plus it is located at the Fame location of my home. Suppose to paint it red but too much fame also will make you go bonkers. I don't be mind to be glamour in moderation so I chosed the secondary colour from the wood element.... green after my dear Froggie.
I am at my apartment in seri kembangan at the moment. Overseeing some painting works done by my colleagues. Got to know about their skills through word of mouth by some very satisfied "customers" including Anakku Sazali. Initially they didn't want to impose any fee. Up to me to "sedekah". But in principle I don't go on that basis when doing business. Just name me your price and justify me how much your work worth. In short, the whole deal must be on a win-win basis. Suffice to say, they charged me reasonably.
As I was sitting alone earlier on my dining table, enjoying my McDonald Breakfast, I recalled the first few months after receiving my keys from the developer. I know everything about buying a house but I know peanut about decorating a house. For that I really envy Samsir, Suhaimi and Sazali. They just seem to know "where" to put "what". Then it was during my PTK3 exam week. In between hearing to the boring lectures and reading confusing notes, I still managed to surf the Net for decorating ideas, at the same time pretending to be typing notes. Nasib la PICC ada Free WIFI.
I bought my apartment when it was completed so I had little time thinking about the concept. Furthermore as I shared in my earlier post I was not into apartment living. Decorating and renovating a 976 sqft apartment like mine post quite a challenge too. The lightings, the paints and choice of furnitures must be of the right combination to bring out the glam and spaciousness.
My apartment kitchen is very tiny so my contractor had to hack the wall separating the yard and kitchen area to form a wet and dry kitchen. Furthermore I need consider lots of storage for all my kitchen utensil ranging from baking utensils, steaming utensils, cutleries, serving dish etc. Plus a mini pantry for my pastas, herbs, spices, dry and canned food. Well, some habits are not easy to get rid of. Like my passion to entertain, wine and dine.
As for the living area and the bedrooms, I had little to complain about in terms of workmanship. So far I have yet to see any defective works or face problems with the fittings and finishings. I have yet to envision how exactly I want it to look like but sometimes u tend to gain inspirations from unlikely places. For example I drew the inspiration of putting plasterbox in the living area while looking up the ceilings of Parliment lobby.
As all my "interior designers" are urban-chic males so choice of colour schemes were more on the earthy and neutral tones - brown, black, white and silver. After reading hundreds of articles and downloading thousands of photos, I finally decided to go on the modern contemporary theme. However, as a half Chinese, I also did some research on feng shui to ensure better flow of chi, determine the best directions, identify poison arrows and energising the eight aspirational areas that governs wealth, fame, love (grrrr), career, networking, education, family and health, and descendant's luck. Kasi ong sikit maa...
The main renovation completed 3 months ago and now I am in the process of putting the finishing touch and hunting for furnitures to mi casa. I just can't wait to see how my Macy curtains fit in the overal do next week. Though it is just a humble abode, I do want it to have a personality.In many ways I am grateful to be single. I don't have to compromise with anyone on the theme, concept, and arrangements. But best of all, it's Mie Casa.
In Bidayuh particularly in the Bau Bijagoi or Bisingai dialect, "parik kupua' means balik kampung or return to the village. When I was in high school I loved to mimic the Bisingais because of their sing-song dialect, coupled with dramatic facial expressions or comical punchlines such as "tiborow" (u have to roll your tongue to pronounce it). As compared to my mum's very "urban" and cultured Bipuruh/Biatah. I spent most of childhood years in rural Bidayuh areas, following my mum who is a teacher, which is why I could speak and understand most of the different Bidayuh dialects - Bipuruh, Bisingai, Bijagoi, Biatah and Bibukar. FYI, the Bidayuh dialects differ from each other just like the Chinese (which I didn't master ... not even one except gibberish Mandarin). To my PTD friends, if you want to see how a Bisingai speak, ask Alim to say "Biuk, bakok" or "Ba Sama Mu".
I started thinking about my beloved kupua' while reading some of my friends' blogs. One wrote some lines in Bidayuh and about the Tiung Dayak with belacan and bilis (anyway Lim, meliur aku ingat pekasam sabik pahit ngan bubur kau). Some wrote about their interests like going places, photo-taking, scuba diving (which are very expensive hobbies). Some wrote about their life in foreign countries (which is a big NO at the moment). The bottom line is, I literally stop living since 2003. I do vacationing, socialising and indulged myself in new interests but I was not "living in the moment". Then I remembered about my best friend trip down to KL during the Raya holidays, in her quest to put some new meanings in her life. I did my very best to be the hospitable hostess and a friend to rely on but deep down I too need a new lease of life, irregardless of how many fish oils I take (some people said it might be just some hormonal thingy). Yesterday, I received an SMS from her saying that she might have a plan. That is to work on her parent's land. Coincidently, a few minutes later my colleague Rosliza came to my room to discuss over some working matters, which got sidetracked to her plans to rear goats.
Suddenly I feel excited to venture into agriculture. My KSU used to say, if you have a hobby... make it profitable. These pictures were taken during my trip home in August 2007. I love my uncle's lush green garden - filled with herbs, tapiocas, maizes, fruit trees and veges like tiung dayak, brinjals, chillies, long beans and etc. I used to help him and his families during the school holidays tending to his orchards and paddy field. Will update more after my trip home in November.
